Recipes, reviews and recreation with the Madhouse Family - one parent, three kids, two dogs, all bilingual !

Saturday, 22 June 2013

Orbit Ecocamel Shower Head review

All week, I've been having a shower with a camel. An environmentally-friendly Ecocamel shower head, that is, before you think I've gone mad !

When the email popped into my inbox asking if I'd like to try one out, I was intrigued. It has a unique halo shape that is unlike anything I've ever seen before and I wasn't sure how effective it would be. It obviously uses a lot less water than a regular shower head but wouldn't you notice? I had visions of me desperately trying to get shampoo out of my hair under a piddly drizzle of water !

Well, I was actually pleasantly surprised. Firstly at how simple it was to install - it took Madhouse Daddy, who by his own admission is no great DIY expert, literally seconds to unscrew the old one and attach the new one. But secondly, and most importantly, because I would never have noticed we'd changed shower heads if I hadn't known in advance. Looking at the holes the water comes out of, it's hard to get your head around but it honestly does create a spray of water that is just as effective as a regular shower head. The only slight niggle is that it seems a lot noisier than our old shower head.

Ecocamel explain : "The Orbit combines cutting edge aesthetics with unbeatable performance. Despite its hollow centre, it uses 10 clusters of carefully positioned nozzles (in a unique ‘bicycle spoke’ pattern) to provide an even spray and full water coverage. It also uses advanced AirCore technology to inject maximum power into your shower. The result is a fantastic, satisfying shower experience, where water droplets burst easily onto the skin and soak you more effectively without splashing or wasting water. With 40 overlapping high power jets of water - the beauty of the Orbit is it actually delivers a bigger and better spray than a typical showerhead would!"

The huge benefit is that it saves water, energy and therefore money. According to the manufacturers, independent testing at an accredited UK testing house demonstrated average water savings of 20%-60% compared with 5 other shower brands available in high street retail stores, which translates to a saving of thousands of litres of water a year for an average household.

It's quite expensive, as showerheads go, but if it helps you cut your water and energy bills, that's actually got to be a good investment. You also get extra Brownie points (or should that be Greenie points?!) for doing your bit to help save the Earth's resources.

Have just taken delivery of the Orbit. The jury is still out as to whether this is a good product or not. Purchased via ad. in the Daily Mail and did get a £20 reduction, however, if i had waited 1 week i would also have received a free shower hose worth £10, but note, the ad in the newspaper says and i quote "Suitable for all shower systems", on the reverse of the box from which the shower head came it quotes "NOT SUITABLE FOR Gravity feed and very low pressure systems". We have a gravity feed system, fortunately the pressure is fairly good, but buyers beware, dont bin your old shower head, this rather expensive bit of kit may not live up to expectations and all the promises made in the newspaper ad. Tony